Autobiography as a method of inquiry

This book is a collection of autobiographical essays written by some of the most established and widely quoted planning scholars of the second half of the twentieth century. The authors’ fame alone would be enough of an argument for publishing a book with their personal accounts of the evolution of their research and ideas. However, this book is more than just a collection of individual autobiographies. Rather these accounts are the outcome of a multistep process of inquiry that began with specific research questions that the editor asked each author to address. This chapter frames autobiography as a research methodology that allows the exploration of planning ideas in a way that differs from most planning literature.